John Lewis to offer sick pay to unvaccinated employees

John Lewis has confirmed it will provide sick pay for unvaccinated staff members, first announced on LinkedIn by Executive Director of Operations, Andrew Murphy.

"We just don’t believe it’s right to create a link between a Partner’s vaccination status and the pay they receive," said Murphy.

He added that John Lewis & Partnerships has been "hugely" supportive of the UK vaccination programme by giving its employees time off to get the jab, and providing its Bracknell sports hall to the NHS as a vaccination centre. It just didn't agree to change its sick pay policy with regard to unvaccinated employees.

Murphy continued: "Leadership teams from every business have had to work incredibly hard to navigate the Covid years. There has been no map, guidebook or training programme to help anyone find the best way through. Very often, there's just a choice between a range of unappealing options.

"We cast no judgement on the decisions of any other organisation, in fact we've enjoyed how united businesses - retailers especially - have been in the face of these huge corporate and societal challenges. However, when life increasingly seems to present opportunities to create division - and with hopes rising that the pandemic phase of Covid may be coming to an end - we're confident that this is the right approach for us"

Unlike John Lewis, high street retailer Next confirmed it had cut sick pay for unvaccinated staff who were self-isolating due to COVID exposure. The company, which employs around 44,000 people, said all employees who tested positive for COVID-19 – regardless of whether they were vaccinated – would be paid in full. However, unvaccinated staff who were required to isolate because they had been identified as a close contact of someone with the virus would only receive statutory sick pay unless there are mitigating circumstances.